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V. Body 4
D. Key Idea sentence: The author’s choiceful use of strong diction in a work impacts
how the audience perceives characters, as well as a specific idea.
a. Textual evidence:
Beowulf saw nothing to be scared of when it came to any aspect of the beastly
dragon; the fire, the wings, talons, the teeth. He had been triumphant in
situations where the advantage was not in his favor, had survived in more
brutal battles and remained victorious.
(Beowulf 2347-2350) .
b. Annotation: The strong action words used in this quote used to depict
Beowulf’s capabilities in defeating the dragon make the reader visualize
Beowulf as a God-like figure that no matter what challenge he is faced with,
he is always victorious. If these powerful words were not used, the audience
may not have the same opinion on Beowulf or value his accomplishments as
heavily. The choice of words has a tremendous impact on the weight of a
message or idea has on the reader. The use of words also had an impact on
what the message comes across as; if the author were to use a word like
“barely” before survived, or struggled, the audience's interpretation will be
that Beowulf wants to be heroic but is a weak character.
c. Textual evidence
“‘You improve them, my boy! Can’t you see that yourself? You stimulate them! You
make them think and scheme. You drive them to poetry, science, religion, all
that makes them what they are for as long as they last. You are, so to speak,
the brute existent by which they learn to define themselves”’
(Gardner 72-73).
i. Annotation: The use of the positive words to depict how Grendel is
aiding the humans by being his brutal monstrous self forces the
audience to consider how a villain aids society. If the words used
were replaced with diction such as “harm” or “destroy” the meaning
of what the dragon is saying would be completely destroyed along
with the opinions made about an idea. The words utilized in a work
are carefully chosen by the author to emulate a specific idea, or
message, and to alter the words used would destroy the opinion of a
character, or idea.
d. Transitional sentence: There are several factors an author must consider
when attempting to portray a specific message, and the choice of diction is
just one part of a big puzzle that impacts the audience's opinion of what the
message is.
VI. The works Beowulf a nd Grendel both utilize selective choices of literary techniques in
order to obtain a specific response from the audience. Whether the techniques used are
diction, characterization, point of view, interactions between characters or any other
technique all have a specific role in making the reader feel a specific way about a topic.
While the audience may have a distinct perspective, these purposeful modes of expression
impel the reader to question their opinions and gives the author complete management over
the feelings of the audience. Everyone may have a different interpretation of what a specific
idea means, however, the objective is to make the reader have a specific opinion on a topic.
The way someone chooses to express a message has complete control over how the opinion
of an idea is formulated.
Works Cited